Aubrey's Nightmare
by nweeks3
Summary: In the seventh incarnation of My Complete Pitch Perfect Story - Part 4, Ten years after a humiliating loss at Lincoln Center, Aubrey has found former Bellas captain Alice and fears the worst.
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: My normal rating for my stories is K+. The reason why this one is a T rating is because one of the scenes in the first chapter is rather...dark. When I wrote this, I really ended up pushing the envelope compared to what I normally write. I also would like to point this out: When I wrote I Love Cupcakes, I stated that future stories would have little or no Aubrey. Well, this has now changed. So, let's just see how this one turns out. Enjoy.**

This story takes place in August 2021.

CHAPTER 1:

At a Starbucks, Aubrey goes up to the counter to place an order.

"One grandiose iced coffee please." Aubrey said handing the cashier money.

As she stepped out of line, she noticed a familiar face behind the cash register and the nametag gave it away. "Nah, that can't be her...can it?" She said slightly worried.

As the barista handed Aubrey her iced coffee, she sat down to drink it questioning why she started to feel sleepy.

"This tastes different, I don't remember ordering decaf." She said confused by the taste. "So...(yawning) why do I feel...sleepy?" She asked herself slowly nodding off to sleep.

* * *

 **WARNING: This next scene is rather dark.**

Hours later, Aubrey woke up in a strange room with her arms and legs tied up.

"What the...where the heck am I?" Aubrey asked confused as to how she didn't wake up where she was sitting back at that Starbucks when she heard an evil laugh.

"Oh, Aubrey...haven't you figured it out already?" A sinister voice asked. When the voice stepped into the light, it was revealed to be her former Bellas captain.

"Alice?" Aubrey asked. "I thought that was you working the register at that Starbucks." She realized.

"You're darn right it was." Alice said.

"Then can you please tell me where we are?" Aubrey asked.

"We're in my basement." Alice said.

"You dragged me all the way down here?" Aubrey said.

"Sure did. Wasn't that hard to get you all the way down here." Alice said.

"Okay, then explain this: Why'd you give me decaf?" Aubrey asked.

"Silly...I wouldn't give you decaf unless you ordered it. I spiked knockout gas in your coffee while the barista wasn't looking." Alice said.

"How?" Aubrey asked.

"After I graduated, I did some research on the proper formula for knockout gas in case our paths were to ever cross again one day. After I got married, I began to give up on hopes of us ever crossing paths again. But luckily I kept a bottle of that knockout gas hidden all these years. And now it was a good thing I did." Alice explained.

"Wait, you WANTED to knock me unconscious? WHY?" Aubrey asked.

"Simple: Remember 10 years ago?" Alice asked prompting a flashback to Aubrey's junior year when she projectile vomited at Lincoln Center.

"Oh, that? Come on, Alice...that was a long time ago." Aubrey said trying to reason with her.

"I know. But I still hold a grudge over that painful loss." Alice said.

"FYI: That loss wasn't just painful for you, it was for me as well. After that day, I became an online laughingstock. And the only real friend I had left for several months was Chloe." Aubrey explained.

"It doesn't matter, soon you won't have her or ANY of the friends you've come to know since I graduated." Alice said.

"What are you talking about? What do you plan to do with me?" Aubrey asked as Alice took out a kitchen knife.

"I've been waiting 10 years for this moment." Alice said with an evil smile.

"Are you planning to stab me to death?" Aubrey asked.

"You guessed it. You made us lose the ICCA's 10 years ago, and now I shall get me revenge." Alice said. "Any last words?" She asked.

"Yes...Chad, Finn, Bellas, I love you all, and I'll miss you forever." Aubrey said tearfully.

As she slowly drew the knife closer to Aubrey's right arm, Alice laughed evilly.

"NOOOOO!" Aubrey screamed. As the knife was inches away from Aubrey's skin, she woke up in her own bed breathing heavilly.

* * *

When Aubrey woke up, Chad turned on the lamp near their bed.

"Aubrey, are you all right?" Chad asked concerned as Aubrey was too busy breathing heavily to respond.

"It was all a dream?" Aubrey asked surprised and relieved at the same time.

"What happened?" Chad asked.

"I...I...I..." Aubrey said trying to get a sentance out.

"Come here." Chad said giving Aubrey a hug. "It'll be okay...You're going to be fine..."

"I'm sorry, Chad. A haunting memory from my past came back." Aubrey said.

"Was it really bad?" Chad asked.

"The only person we know that knows about it is Chloe." Aubrey said.

"Tell me what's wrong." Chad said prompting a flashback.

"Okay...yesterday morning, I went to Starbucks to pick up my morning coffee on the way to work. When I walked into the door, I noticed a familiar face behind the register." Aubrey said.

"Who was it?" Chad asked.

"It was the woman who was captain of the Bellas during my first three years at Barden." Aubrey remembered.

"Did you talk to her?" Chad asked.

"Only for her to take my order. Anyway, when I noticed it was her, I ran back to my car to put on a hat & sunglasses as an attempt for her to not notice me. I went up to the counter to take my order, and luckily the disguise worked so she wouldn't try to make conversation with me." Aubrey said.

"Okay, why would you try to hide from her?" Chad asked.

"She was so mean to me." Aubrey said.

"Okay, I get it. Listen, don't worry about it for right now. If it's getting you down, we'll work on this problem in the morning." Chad said.

"Okay. But right now I'm hoping my screaming didn't wake Finn up." Aubrey said.

"I'll go check." Chad said as he got up to do so. Surprisingly, when Chad went to check, Finn was still sound asleep. "Oh, thank goodness." He whispered before heading back to bed.

"Is he okay?" Aubrey asked.

"Yep. Good night, Aubrey." Chad said turning off the lamp.

"Good night, Chad." Aubrey said as they both went back to sleep.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: That scene with the warning message was the only dark moment in this entire story.** **See how Chad tries to help Aubrey overcome her nightmare as the remainder of this story continues.**


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2:

The next morning, Chad was in the kitchen making breakfast.

"Aubrey, breakfast is ready." Chad said as Aubrey came downstairs.

"Pancakes today?" Aubrey asked noticing what was on the table.

"Yep. And that's not all...I remembered how freaked out you were over that trip to Starbucks yesterday. So I made coffee today." Chad said.

"Thank you. Hopefully this coffee is better than what I've been usually ordering at Starbucks." Aubrey said as she took her first sip.

"Well?" Chad asked waiting for an approval.

"This is really good. You ought to make coffee more often." Aubrey said.

"Maybe I should." Chad said as the doorbell rang. He went to answer the door. "Hey, Chloe. Come on in." He said as Chloe entered.

"Is everything okay with Aubrey?" Chloe asked.

"Not sure. There are some details she didn't tell me about last night." Chad said as he & Chloe sat down at the table.

"Okay, so here goes: Chloe, you remember Alice, right?" Aubrey asked.

"That former Bellas captain who was so mean to us? How could I not forget?" Chloe asked.

"Well, ever since I went to Starbucks yesterday, I had this nightmare where she spiked my iced coffee with knockout gas. I was unconscious long enough that she dragged me out of that coffee shop and down to her basement. I woke up with my arms & legs tied up." Aubrey said tearfully.

"Oh, no." Chloe said worried.

"That's not the worst of it; she wanted to stab me to death with a kitchen knife as revenge for me costing us the ICCA's that year." Aubrey continued.

"Did she succeed?" Chloe asked.

"I woke up before the knife actually touched my skin." Aubrey said.

"Well, be relieved that it was only a dream." Chloe said.

"Yeah. And since it's been 10 years since that loss, maybe she's a different person now." Chad said.

"I don't want to take a chance. Because what happened after our loss was something WAY worse." Aubrey said.

"What was it?" Chad asked.

"I was a laughingstock on campus and on social media." Aubrey said tearfully.

"Oh, I remember that. I still feel sorry you had to go through all of that." Chloe said.

"And ever since, I swore off social media. To this day, I never gave it a second chance." Aubrey said.

"Well, maybe you SHOULD give it a second chance. Think about it: You have a loyal group of friends now and a family." Chad said.

"True." Aubrey acknowledged.

"And if you're that worried about all of this, I'd recommend staying off Twitter." Chad said.

"Yeah. Especially since my real friends are the ones that matter to me now." Aubrey said.

"Let me ask you this: When you & Chloe lead the Bellas, did all the teasing eventually die down by then?" Chad asked.

"Most of it. And I went for years not having to worry about it, until that very moment yesterday." Aubrey said.

"So what exactly did Alice say to you before you went on stage that day?" Chad asked prompting a flashback.

 _In a flashback..._

 _"Just don't mess up your solo." Alice said firmly._

 _"I won't disappoint you. My dad always said 'If you can't beat the heat, get out of Kuwait'." Aubrey said._

 _"Does your dad ever tell you to shut up?" Alice asked._

 _End of flashback._

"Aca-scuse me? Who says stuff like that?" Chad asked shocked.

"Now that I know where she works, I'm afraid to go back to that Starbucks again." Aubrey said worried.

"Which one was this? There are plenty of Starbucks locations here in town." Chad asked.

"It's the one 5 blocks from here." Aubrey said.

"Okay. I understand your concern, but there's one way to deal with these problems...face them." Chad suggested.

"How?" Aubrey asked.

"I'll go to that Starbucks and talk to this Alice myself, and if she agrees to meet with you, it'd be an opportunity to talk things out." Chad suggested.

"Okay. Just not today, though. I'm not ready to have a conversation with her yet." Aubrey said.

"I'll go with you, Chad. I need my coffee for the day." Chloe said.

"Okay, I'm off to work, so I'll see you two later." Aubrey said as she grabbed her purse and left.

"Alright, Chloe. Let me grab Finn, and then we'll go." Chad said as he grabbed Finn from his high chair.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3:

At that same Starbucks location, Chloe & Chad went up to the counter to order and as expected Alice was at the cash register.

"One grandiose iced coffee please." Chad said.

"Didn't you have your coffee already?" Chloe asked.

"No. I just made coffee for Aubrey." Chad said.

"Say, don't I know one of you two from somewhere?" Alice asked.

"I think you know her. You must be this Alice my wife's been telling me about." Chad said.

"Who's your wife?" Alice asked.

"Here's a picture of her. Maybe you recognize her." Chad said showing Alice a picture of Aubrey in her old Bellas uniform.

"Oh, so you married her?" Alice asked.

"Yes I did." Chad said.

"Where is she right now?" Alice asked.

"She went to work and furthermore after a nightmare she had last night, she didn't want to come in here." Chad said.

"Is everything alright?" Alice asked.

"Not really. She's still bent up from last night." Chloe said.

"When is your break?" Chad asked.

"About 5 minutes." Alice said.

"Good. We need to talk to you." Chad said.

"But for now, that'll be $3.50 for your iced coffee." Alice said as Chad pays her the money.

5 minutes later Alice joined Chloe & Chad during her break.

"So, what do you two need to talk to me about?" Alice asked.

"Last night my wife had this dream where she came in here for coffee, and you spiked her coffee with knockout gas." Chad said.

"Why would I do that?" Alice said.

"Apparently in her dream, you still hold a grudge over that time she cost you the ICCA's 10 years ago." Chloe continued.

"Really? So what did I do?" Alice asked.

"She said you tied up her arms & legs and then tried to murder her with a kitchen knife." Chad explained.

"Look, guys. I know I was rather mean spirited when I lead the Bellas, but that's not me anymore." Alice said.

"Really?" Chloe asked.

"Of course. Being married for the last 5 years made me realize what a fool I've been." Alice continued.

"So you want us to believe that you've changed since then?" Chad asked.

"It's the truth. Listen, guys, I'm really sorry for the way I treated her back then." Alice said.

"Okay, but how do you expect us to believe you?" Chloe asked.

"Because despite how tough I was, I'm not a liar." Alice said.

"Well, you might want to sit down with her and explain that. I know she may not forgive you right away, but it's worth a shot." Chad said.

"I know. Is there anyway I can get in contact with one of you two?" Alice asked.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4:

4 days later at Aubrey & Chad's house, the doorbell rang and Chad went to answer it.

"Oh, hey, Chloe. I was expecting someone else, but please come in." Chad said as Chloe entered.

"How's she doing?" Chloe asked concerned.

"Hopefully after today, she'll start to feel better about what happened." Chad said.

"Hey, Chloe. I didn't know you were coming." Aubrey said coming downstairs.

"Neither did I. But it's a good thing she came." Chad said as the doorbell rang. "Coming." He said as he went to answer it.

"Hey, Chad." Alice said.

"Alice, glad you're here. Please come in." Chad said as Alice sat down at the kitchen table.

"Chad, what is she doing in our house?" Aubrey asked.

"Remember when I said the one way to deal with your problems is to face them?" Chad asked.

"Yes. But this was not what I had in mind." Aubrey said.

"And what was that exactly?" Chad asked.

"I don't know. Maybe have you make me coffee in the morning and avoid Starbucks for the rest of my life." Aubrey suggested.

"You want to keep having your nightmare or not?" Chad asked.

"No. Of course not." Aubrey said.

"Then listen to what the woman has to say. And if it turns out she was lying, THEN the joke's on me & Chloe." Chad said.

"I'm worried the joke may ALREADY be on you two." Aubrey said nervously.

"There's only one way to know." Chad said as the two join Alice & Chloe at the kitchen table.

"Thanks again for coming, Alice." Chad said.

"No problem. Happy to help." Alice said. "And who's THIS little guy?" She asked.

"His name is Finn. He just turned 2 years old a month ago." Aubrey said.

"How cute. My husband and I have a 3-year old daughter at home." Alice said.

"What's her name?" Chad asked.

"Her name is Grace. She's like our little ray of sunshine. So Aubrey, it has come to my attention that you had a nightmare about me." Alice said.

"I did. I thought I wouldn't have to worry about it, but that visit to Starbucks the other day is what triggered it." Aubrey said.

"Well, I'm happy to clear things up for you." Alice said as Aubrey heard Finn crying in the background.

"Excuse me, I'll be right back." Aubrey said as she started to get up.

"No, it's okay. I got this." Chad said as he got Finn up from his high chair to see what was wrong. He returned to the table with Finn 1 minute later. "Sorry about that. He needed a diaper change." He said setting Finn down in his high chair.

"It's okay." Alice said.

"So where were we?" Aubrey asked.

"Oh, yes. Aubrey, I will admit, I WAS disappointed when your vomiting cost us the ICCA's 10 years ago. But I played no part in making you a laughingstock." Alice said.

"Oh, well that's a relief. So if it wasn't you, who could've done it?" Aubrey asked before she & Chloe thought of a possible suspect.

"Bumper." Aubrey & Chloe said.

"It all makes sense. He witnessed what happened that performance." Chloe remembered. "And remember that snarky comment he made at auditions the following year?" She asked prompting a flashback.

 _In a flashback..._

 _"If you sing the same boring old songs, you WILL blow chunks. All over the place." Bumper said._

 _"My fellow aca-people, we WILL get to the finals and finish what we started last year." Aubrey fired back._

 _End of flashback._

"Well, glad we got that problem sorted out. But what about the nightmare I had since I saw you that day at Starbucks?" Aubrey asked.

"Oh, yeah. Despite how mean I was when I lead the Bellas, I do have a moral code. Meaning, all those things Chad & Chloe told me about in your nightmare, I'd never do that to you or anybody." Alice said.

"Really?" Aubrey asked.

"Of course. I'd never try to spike knockout gas or anything in your iced coffee, nor would I EVER try to murder you. If I did either one of those things, I'd be in jail. As a result, I never would've met my husband nor would I have ever given birth to my beautiful angel of a daughter." Alice said.

"That sounds believeable to me." Chad said.

"What do you say, Aubrey? Do you believe me?" Alice asked to which Aubrey responded after thinking about what she heard.

"I do." Aubrey said.

"Good. Because I want you to feel safe to order at Starbucks any time." Alice said.

"Well, next time I go inside to order coffee, I might just put you up to that." Aubrey said.

"So what do you say...friends?" Alice asked holding out her arms prompting a hug.

"Friends." Aubrey confirmed accepting the hug.

"Maybe someday I'll introduce you to Grace." Alice offered.

"I think we'd like that. Thank you so much for this talk. It really helped." Aubrey said.

"Glad I could help. I'll hope to see you next time you order coffee." Alice said as she got up preparing to leave.

"I look forward to it." Aubrey said as she & Alice walked to the door.

"See you around." Alice said leaving the house with Aubrey closing the door behind her.

"See, Aubrey, it wasn't so bad after all." Chad said.

"You're right. I'm so sorry I doubted you." Aubrey said as the two kissed.

"Don't worry about it. You did a very brave thing today." Chad said.

"I am so proud of you." Chloe said.

"Thanks, Chloe." Aubrey said.

"I wonder what her daughter looks like." Chloe said curious.

"Who knows; maybe one day we'll meet her." Aubrey said.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5:

The next morning, Aubrey woke up from a good night's sleep.

"Morning, Chad." Aubrey said happily.

"Morning, Aubrey. Judging by that smile, it's safe to assume you got a good night's sleep last night." Chad said.

"I sure did. I couldn't have done it without you & Chloe." Aubrey said.

"I'm just glad you & Alice were able to talk things through yesterday." Chad said.

"Me too. Seems like she's much happier now that's she way nicer than before." Aubrey said.

"I know, right. Whatever happened in the past between you two, it's over now." Chad said.

"Yeah. And thanks to that, I just might give Facebook a second chance." Aubrey said.

"There you go. We'll set up your profile later today." Chad said.

"But for now...want to go to Starbucks after our showers?" Aubrey asked.

"I thought you'd never ask." Chad said excited.

"I'll go get in the shower while you make breakfast." Aubrey said.

* * *

2 hours later at Starbucks, Aubrey & Chad headed up to the register to order.

"Two grandiose iced coffees, please." Aubrey said.

"Hey, guys. You seem pretty happy today." Alice said.

"Yep. After yesterday's talk, Aubrey got a good night's sleep." Chad said.

"That's great news. I'm glad we sorted things out." Alice said.

"Me too. And now I know to never be worried about coming in here for coffee again." Aubrey said.

"Good. Say, are you two free this Saturday?" Alice asked. "If you are, I was thinking about having a beach day and I'll even bring Grace." She suggested.

"Sounds wonderful. I hope she'll get along with Finn." Aubrey said.

"My husband and I raised her well. I think the two will get along just fine." Alice said as the two paid for their coffees.

"I guess we'll see you & Grace on Saturday." Chad said as he & Aubrey grabbed their coffees.

"I'm looking forward to it. See you then." Alice said as Aubrey & Chad went to sit down.

After Aubrey took her first sip, she gave a satisfied sigh. "Perfect taste." She said.

"See what I mean; nothing to worry about." Chad said.

THE END!

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: The beach day mentioned in this chapter was at one point going to be added as another chapter for this story. But then I thought that maybe the idea of a Bella beach day should be a separate story. I do have an idea for this beach themed story, but before I write it, I'm waiting for one important thing to happen. And that of course would be "The Lost Kiss" reveal (provided it actually does happen). If it happens, it'll effect the script compared to how it would be now.**


End file.
